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david partigon

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I wasn't really sure where to ask this question; but I figured it might as well go here.

I've always wanted to direct my own movies, but I'm not sure where to start - or how the "big timers" make it as far as they do (movies that make it to the theatres).

Do most attend school to become a director / filmer?

Thanks
 
Heya,

It's a mixed bag. Directors come from all over the place, different backgrounds, some go to film school, some don't. At the end of the day, whether or not you went to film school does not really matter. However - you have to have SOME form of film education, even if that just means studying films, making films, etc. The most important thing there is making films. Sounds dumb, but you'd be suprised how long it takes some people to figure this part out.

Film school can get you contacts, you will meet other filmmakers. You will make films. But it can be restricting in that not always will you get to act as director, you have to follow the pace of the class, etc. It can be a great place to learn the technical elements if you have no idea where to start.

It's hard to say exactly how to get a big break, but the first thing you have to sort out is:

Learn how to make kickass films.

This is the thing that will take you the longest, because, lots of people out there are trying to make it. Unfortunately, most of these people are making bad films. If you can make a film that really wows an entire audience at a decent film festival, then you are probably someone who will be taken an interest in. Can you make people cringe, cry, laugh? Can you make people interested in your films enough to go to your website and desperately search for all the other short films you have made?

So again this is where film school comes in. If you're struggling on your own, you don't know where to begin, film school might be for you. It also might be for someone who is already competent, just wants to study it...to be in that environment... Film school can be hella expensive. So weigh up your options. Get all the good books (Shot by Shot, Story, Directing Actors, etc. etc.), read them cover to cover five or six times over. Watch a film a day, at least .Read a screenplay a day. Make a short film every few weeks.

About the screenplay thing, even if you don't want to write your own material....read screenplays! Lots of them. So many directors and even screenwriters haven't even read twenty scripts in their lives before they decide to make/write features. It's like being a musician. You listen to everything. You get inspired. You collect CD's. You live and breathe the things you love. The Beatles didn't just wake up and decide they were going to be songwriters. They had been listening to music all their lives. So they might not have had the tools at a young age, when they found the tools (instruments), they knew what to do. It was only a matter of learning to play. The heart and soul was already there. The inspiration, the passion, all there.

Film should be the same way. You should be able to stare at a single frame of a film you like and marvel at it. Good film should get you excited. You have to love it.

When you are at the point when you can proove you can make a killer 5-10 minute short film, roll them round the festivals. Put them online. See how people respond. Most likely this will be the point in your early career when people are youtubing you begging for your camera specs and how you made it look so cool. Or non filmmakers taking an interest in your stories. Your films getting accepted and winning awards at lots of film festivals. This means you might be ready to start tackling a feature.

Sometimes, if you make a surprisingly good short film, you might get calls, you might get meetings, you might get offered a script, who knows. This just depends on what sort of film, where, how, why, etc. Some producer might ask you if you have a feature script in planning at this point. (Please do).

Other times, maybe this will be the stage when you're ready to tackle a feature. Use your short films to get funding, get investors or funding from a film commission or something, maybe your own money, whatever it takes to make the film. If you make a killer feature that gets the attention of festivals and lots of people, you will get calls and you will hopefully get noticed. But you have to put it out there. There's a whole lot of info here on distribution etc and how to go about getting it picked up for distribution. Check out Robert Rodriguez' book rebel without a crew. This will give you some quick inspiration. Good read.

Of course, your first feature will probably suck. So get it done, move on to the next one. If you're writing it, make sure you've written a feature script before. Make sure your script is mega tight before you try shooting a frame.

Keep in mind along the way you may decide to pick up some cash directing ads, directing small tv spots or company videos, weddings, etc. This is all very appealing for money, but can take you off track. Kind of like when a musician wants to be in a really massive band, so they start gigging, don't make any money (thats normal), then offers to do covers gigs comes up, they pay well...then before you know it, it's five years down the track and you're still playing covers at the local pub on Tuesday through Sunday.Wears you out.

Anyway, at some point around this stage when you're making amazing features, you might win a festival or pick up a sweet distribution deal. You might get meetings with agents and producers. This is when you might start working with name actors. (Of course you could hire a name actor for any of your features, maybe not a big shot but a name, nevertheless...this helps with distribution but check out the forum for more info. The Corrado thread etc.) Climbing the ladder. You might get an offer to direct something big, and then you're in the door...for how long, that's up to you. You have to continue to prove yourself.

It sounds do-able, right? It is. But the hardest part of all is proving you can make good films. That's where mostf people fail, right there. You have to be better than everyone else. You have to be able to move people with your films. You have to have an understanding of film. Complete control of the frame and the camera, and know how to work with actors. It's all a big learning experience. And of course there is no one sure way in the door. But if you are going to aim for that door, then fix onto it, and don't think about anything else until you're through. It takes hard dedication, years of work, and passion. Do it.doit.

By the way, I referenced Corrado in here earlier, but do check out this guy: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/member.php?u=24926 look at his threads, he has a new one in the User Films section at the moment. He is an example of someone working extremely hard to get to the top - his film Corrado has Tom Seizemore in it, and he is working on another project. Tough business!
 
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Thanks a lot for that man, I really appreciate the help and guidance.

I was also wondering if you submit your script to production companies (like , Lionsgate?) before making a feature film, or is that only for high budget films?
 
If you're shooting your own script, then all sorts of people may see it in the pre production phase, such as investors. The studios would have more to do with you on that pre production level once you get a name for yourself, as I understand it anyway. On the independent level you would make the film then when it's done you try and sell it and get it distributed.

If you're sending a script to get produced (usually by someone else/a studio) then you send it to producers or in some cases agents etc.

There are all sorts of different cases though it seems, so there's really no one way to go about it. But yeah at this level - the best thing is to learn how to make killer movies. Start with shorts and build up from there.
 
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